


Trying not to love you...

by Juleatic



Series: You call to me, and I fall at your feet [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Fluff, M/M, Maybe some smut later, Mutual Pining, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Soulmates, but only from rose, this is my first fic in this fandom so please bear with me, will add tags as i write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24238630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juleatic/pseuds/Juleatic
Summary: After a long time, Leon had finally found his soulmate. As always, his soulmate didn't recognize him. He didn't have the memories of previous life times they spent together. Will Leon be able to lift the curse and make Raihan remember?
Relationships: Dande | Leon & Hop, Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Hop/Masaru | Victor
Series: You call to me, and I fall at your feet [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749505
Comments: 11
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Fanfic here on AO3 and also my first ever fanfic written in the Pokémon-Universe... please bear with me. Also, please tell me if you miss any tags and I will gladly add them! (I'm still a little lost)
> 
> I'm also not too versed in writing battles, let alone Pokémon battles, so I will probably cut those short for the time being.

“It has to be perfect,” Leon told Marge, his stylist, as she fiddled with an especially stubborn strand of his long, purple hair. In return, she only rolled his eyes at him.

“I know, Champ. So please, would you mind just letting me do my work? You’d do me a bloody favor.” Lovely, wasn’t she? But really – Leon actually liked her. She simply never disappointed him, even though his hair was a little difficult to handle, to say the least. Sometimes he wondered how she got so good at her job. Marge couldn’t be much older than twenty-five. And she had been his stylist for the last five years. He didn’t know her background – not because he wasn’t interested in it, but rather because she refused to talk to him about it. Keeping it professional and all. At least that’s what she always told him. Maybe Chairman Rose just didn’t want Leon to engage too much in the personal life of his _employees_.

Whatever her reason was: He respected it and had stopped pushing further after a few awkward conversations. Nowadays they simply kept to small talk. Which… well, was also a little awkward for Leon who was usually more on the chatty side. On days like this it also didn’t really help to calm his nerves. When he was nervous, he’d usually just babble away senselessly. One time he’d really asked Sonia if she thought a Scrafty could actually lose its pants if it wasn’t careful enough or if it was part of its skin. And after Sonia had shot him a confused look he’d added the question, that if it was skin, why did Scrafty keep holding onto it, losing every opportunity to use its hands in a fight. Unsurprisingly, Sonia didn’t have an answer to that particularly weird question in that moment.

“I think you’re good to go. Show him, Champion!” Leon almost jumped in surprise when Marge softly patted him on the back. He flashed his signature smile, before he rose from his seat and did his typical champion pose.

Marge just rolled her eyes at him again, but he could have sworn there was a slight smile on her face when she said, “Whatever. Just make sure you don’t ruin your hair _again_. He keeps throwing weather effects at you and it will make you look horrible if you’re not careful.”

“Noted. But that’s also what makes it so fun.”, Leon said, but frowned when he saw the deadpan look on her face. “Come on, Marge, you can’t tell me you never get caught up in a good battle!”, he exclaimed, now visibly excited. Of course, Marge didn’t comment on this and just quietly started packing her things. She probably had another client to style, huh?

Fifteen minutes later, Leon was about to enter the stadium. He felt excited. Hopeful. And also a little bit anxious. Not only because of the possibility of losing to his strong rival. But maybe because today might be the day he finally remembered. Though, as long as they had a great battle, the latter could wait. But Leon would not lose to him.

The crowd cheered for both of them as they entered the stadium. Euphoria rushed through his body and intensified the closer he got to his rival. When they were finally facing each other, Leon’s heart missed a beat and it took him a second to gain composure again. His rival seized the chance, of course.

“Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine record is about to end — when I beat you here today!"

“You know I don’t lose battles, Raihan!” And as he spoke, he already got his Charizard to Gigantamax. It was an all or nothing from here onward. That’s how they always battled. Raihan and Leon both gave 120 percent. Always. They never half assed things – that’s why they worked so well together and why their battles were so mesmerizing to watch. They had had 10 official league battles since Leon had become champion and many more in private. Not a single move was ever the same. Of course, they knew each other inside out, but they worked their teams so hard and adjusted their strategies so well every time they battled, even the best league commentators were at a loss for words sometimes. And this time was no different.

Feeling a bead of sweat running down his face, Leon called his Dragapult back into its Pokéball. Not without stroking its head proudly and praising it first, though. The battle had been hard, but invigorating. Raihan had him backed into a corner with only his last two Pokémon, Dragapult and Haxorus, standing. Though Haxorus was probably sad she didn’t get to battle any of Raihan’s Pokémon today.

“Great match. But I told you, I don’t lose battles.”, Leon finally said, facing his rival. They were both panting, and though the stadium had erupted in loud cheers long ago, it felt like only the two of them were here. At least that’s what it felt like for Leon when he looked into Raihan’s teal eyes from across the stadium.

“Drink later?”, Raihan asked him but he was only able to nod before he realized he had to leave the stadium. Official league business and all.

* * *

It was nine in the morning when his Charizard gently nudged his face to wake him up. Leon jumped in surprise, hitting his head on the roof’s pitch. Ugh, that hurt.

“You know you shouldn’t surprise me like that.”, he muttered while patting his companion’s head. After rubbing his tired eyes Leon dared to have a look at his Rotom phone. 56 unread messages. 5 missed calls. All from chairman Rose and Oleana. And it was way too late. At least his train would only hit the road in about two hours. That was enough time for him to get ready, say his goodbye to Raihan and hopefully not get lost on his way to the station.

_“Champion Leon, your train is leaving the station in 40 minutes.”_ The voice of his Rotom phone sounded alarmed at this announcement and that’s exactly how he felt when he heard it. How could it leave in 40 minutes already? He thought he had two hours!

“How the bloody hell did that happen?” Jumping from his bed, he hurriedly brushed his hair and told his Pokémon to go back into their Pokéballs.

_“Chairman Rose called two hours ago to inform you about the schedule change.”_ , Rotom answered his question sheepishly and started playing the voice mails the Chairman left for Leon before reading all the 56 messages aloud.

“And you thought it was a good idea to let me sleep until now?” He wasn’t even mad – after all, it wasn’t Rotom’s fault the Chairman changed plans last minute. Leon appreciated the additional hours of sleep he got, though.

_“Sorry, Champion Leon. Charizard and I tried to wake you up for an hour but you were too knocked out from last night.”_ If his Rotom could blush, Leon swore he would have. It was kind of cute but also annoying because he knew as soon as they’d be in Postwick, Rotom would start making fun of his _little crush_.

But Leon had no time to waste. He quickly got dressed and then quickly went to the bathroom downstairs to brush his teeth and wash his face. His head hurt a little – did he really go so overboard last night that he was hungover now? Wow. Things like this really only ever happened when he was with Raihan. He talked him into things while trying to make him feel as normal as possible. So Leon could forget the burdens of being Champion for a little while. He was grateful for it, but it also painfully reminded him how busy he was and how he never had time for his friends and family because of his obligations. Which – honestly – made him quite sad and resentful. But he had no time to sulk about this now.

Carefully, Leon knocked on his rival’s door. When he got no answer, he slowly opened it, only to see Raihan sprawled out over the whole bed, blanket buried beneath his body. His mouth stood half open and he made a weird sound with it as he slowly opened one of his eyes. Leon honestly didn’t know what to think: Raihan was hot, but that wasn’t news. He rather wondered how it was possible to be attracted to such a huge idiot, because seriously: Who buried their blanket _under_ them during sleep?

“I have to go now, Rai. See you in a few days?”, he finally said in a hushed voice, his heart aching at the thought of not seeing him for a while. But maybe it was a good idea to stay away from him for some days: He could think of strategies to use so that Raihan would finally remember everything. Unfortunately, yesterday hadn’t been the day after all.

“But ‘s too early. Your train’s only leaving in two hours…”, Raihan lazily complained and Leon could see him already drifting off to sleep again.

“Yeah. Rose changed plans on short notice. Don’t know why, but you know I have to do what he tells me to.” Leon shrugged because they’ve had this conversation countless times before. It never led anywhere, and he was glad Raihan was already fast asleep again. It was easier to leave without him talking back.

The train ride to Wedgehurst was quiet. Of course: He had his own compartment where no one would disturb him besides maybe some staff members. They asked him about breakfast and if he wanted something to drink and he happily accepted their offers. After all, Chairman Rose would pay for every expense on the way. He wished he had a little company, though, and let the three smallest Pokémon he was traveling with out of their Pokéballs for now. Maybe playing with them would help him to get over his hangover and loneliness.

_“Sobble?”_ The little blue Pokémon climbed into his lap and looked at him with big blue eyes. It seemed a little scared of its surroundings, so Leon held it close and made sure it didn’t start to cry. Meanwhile, Scorbunny and Grookey were exploring the compartment and he swore they were already planning their first shenanigans.

“Two of you will meet your new trainers today. Aren’t you excited?”, Leon asked the small ones and all of them burst out laughing in excitement. Well, Sobble still looked a bit scared and he wasn’t sure it was ready to already meet its trainer.

“They’re gonna be really nice to you. And they will train you to become the strongest version of yourselves, I’m sure of it!” Now all of them nodded in approval and Sobble finally gained the courage to join his friends in the shenanigans they were planning. Leon watched them, careful to make sure they wouldn’t do anything extraordinarily stupid like tripping the staff members.

Then, the typical bell before an incoming announcement rung.

_“Dearest guests, we are happy to announce that in a few minutes we will arrive at our final destination, Wedgehurst station. We thank you for traveling with us. Please make sure to take all of your belongings with you.”_

Leon sighed and explained to the little ones that they had to get back into their Pokéballs again. They complied without hesitation and he smiled like an idiot. He would finally see his little brother again. Of course, he’d have to greet his fans first, but he was looking forward to finally spend a little time with him. Leon didn’t even remember how many months had passed since they last saw each other in person. They used their phones to video chat, sure, but it simply wasn’t the same. And frankly, even then Leon didn’t have enough time to listen to all his brother had to say. His schedule was overwhelming – even for him – and Hop wasn’t allowed to stay up until late in the night just to talk to his brother. Leon really tried to fit Hop into his schedule as much as possible; but that was still not enough, he knew that. At least he tried. Thus it was time to forget about all the sad thoughts in his head and instead focus on the positive: Seeing Hop and meeting his neighborhood friend for the first time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yet again, Leon manages to disappoint his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again! Please enjoy :D  
> (also, this is now a Sobble fic. I swear I didn't mean for it to happen like this, but the small bean is just too cute???)

_A devious grin decorated Eternatus’ face before it opened its mouth again to speak to him._

_“He’s not going to remember you. Never. You will look for him many lifetimes, but you shall be the only one remembering everything. All that happened between you two.”_

_He was unable to decipher the grimace on Eternatus’ face, but it instilled terror in him. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to run away from this monster, to leave it and just hide somewhere forever. Let it reign over Galar. But he couldn’t do that. He had to protect the people and Pokémon._

_When he looked down though, his heart shattered into a million pieces. Every ounce of motivation he had held onto left his body at once as he sunk down to his knees. This couldn’t be true. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to him._

_“No…”, he sobbed, caressing his lover’s cold, scared face. Acid like tears streamed down his face while his own breathing steadily got faster. The realization hit him like a lightning strike. He tried to say something, anything. But not a single sound left his body. He just looked down on him as the tears and the rain covered the lifeless body of his lover._

* * *

Leon woke with a start, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. He tried to wipe away the sweat on his forehead, but his hand was trembling too much. Clearing his throat also didn’t work, it was way too dry to do so. The cough resulting in this woke up the small Sobble that had slept on Charizard’s back before.

 _“Sobble?”_ , it asked him quietly, already on its way to him.

“’s fine. Just a bad dream, is all.” Leon’s voice was a whisper, but he tried to assure Sobble it needn’t worry about him. It wasn’t the first time he dreamt this exact dream and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last time. He didn’t need to make his Pokémon worry about it when it meant nothing. It was just a memory. However, the blue baby was still determined to keep him company now and jumped onto his bed, crawling into Leon’s lap where it looked up to him and cocked its head.

_“Sobble?”_

“No really. Don’t you worry. You need your rest; your training starts tomorrow.” This didn’t seem to soothe the little one, but it didn’t push any further. Just like Leon (most of the time) it already knew when it should let go. Instead, Sobble now climbed onto his shoulder where it lay down so his legs were hanging over Leon’s back while his front paws where hanging over his chest. Leon figured it was to show him how comfortable he already was with his new trainer – after all, Sobble didn’t trust other people easily. Surprisingly though, it let out a sad sigh next.

“Oh? Do you miss your friends already?” Though Sobble couldn’t see it, his expression was laced with worry.

“You will see them again soon, I promise. Victor and Hop are strong, I’m sure they want to battle you in the future.”, Leon said more confidently now, “And you will make new friends. I know they’re all big and scary right now, but Charizard will take good care of you. He’ll make sure none of the others are mean to you. And if they ever are, you can still scream at them and make them cry as revenge. How’s that sound?” Apparently, Sobble really liked the idea because it started giggling quietly. Sure, Leon knew none of this would probably happen – his Pokémon were quite friendly towards newbies in his team –, but of course, Sobble didn’t know that yet. So he had to make sure the small bean felt safe with him and the others.

“Good. So how about you go back to sleep now, huh? I wasn’t kidding when I said your training starts tomorrow!” Leon flashed his signature smile at the small Pokémon he now held in his hands and then put it back into his lap, as he lay down again.

A few minutes passed before he noticed Sobble was snoring a little bit. Nevertheless he didn’t stop caressing it. Not only because Leon was afraid it would wake the blue baby up, but also because it soothed his nerves a little bit. His mind was still racing, though. Thinking about the dream. Wondering if it really happened like that or if his mind was just playing tricks on him. After all, how could he tell memories from dreams after centuries of this torture. After being reborn a dozen times, meeting his soulmate again and again without him having the slightest idea who he was. But you couldn’t just tell someone that you’re they’re soulmate and that you’ve known this since the first time you saw them. Like… how creepy would that be, right? So he suffered quietly. Always being right by his side. Sometimes they fell in love, other times they didn’t. This time… well, Leon sure was in love with Raihan. But it was clear the gym leader didn’t feel the same way. And Leon didn’t push further. After all, being friends with your soulmate was better than not having them in your life at all. He wouldn’t risk what they had right now. But it hurt, seeing him with other people. Being told about dates he had a week ago and how he just didn’t find _the right one_. Sure, Leon knew why. But he couldn’t just spring this on his best friend. He’d probably think Leon was crazy anyway.

* * *

The following morning, Leon woke up at exactly seven thirty a.m. – which was still a little late for him, considering he usually was up at seven. More surprisingly, all his Pokémon were already awake, sitting in a huge circle, Sobble being the center of it. It sounded like it was telling a great story: All the others were quietly listening to it, nodding from time to time, even whispering in agreement sometimes. The more Leon thought about it, the more it seemed Sobble already had all of them wrapped around his little paws. They didn’t even realize Leon was awake until he sat up and stretched himself. It even took them a second to greet him and they didn’t even stand up to do so. Usually, they would almost scream at him when he was finally awake and then run to him, almost cuddling him to death.

“I guess this little man has all of you really excited. What was he telling you, huh?”, Leon wondered with a grin on his face and got out of bed.

 _“Sobble!”_ , the small bean literally jumped right into his arms and all the others laughed at Leon’s surprised look.

“Well look at you! And I was worried you’d be scared of them again come morning.” He smiled while patting Sobble on the head. He then joined the circle, sitting down carefully between Charizard and Dragapult. The two Dreepy did what they usually did and hid in Leon’s mane of hair, Dragapult shooting them an observant look.

“So, how are we going about our day, huh? I think we should show our two trainer newbies the ropes, what do you think?” With expectation in his eyes he looked at his Pokémon who all nodded in agreement. Sobble eagerly climbed on top of Charizard’s head, grabbing its horns with his small paws. This made Charizard laugh in surprise and it carefully shook its head, trying to get Sobble to leave him be. After a few seconds he already gave up though, looking at Leon with pleading eyes in the hopes that his trainer would take care of the little troublemaker. Before he could do anything, the two Dreepy joined Sobble atop of Charizard’s head and small sounds of enjoyment could be heard from them. This, and they also vanished every three seconds as they usually did when they got excited. Another pleading look from his best buddy followed and Leon got up with a quiet sigh.

“Okay, okay. You three behave now. We don’t want poor Charizard over here to explode from all of your cuteness.”, he announced and took Sobble into his arms while the Dreepy already were on their way back to Dragapult. Leon went over to his suitcase, placing Sobble on the drawer next to it. Being the Champion luckily meant he didn’t have to think about what he was wearing every single day of his life, because there were regulations as to what he could wear for certain occasions and on normal days. Being the Champion also had the downside of not being able to choose what he was going to wear. Sponsors wanted to get the maximum coverage, so he almost had to wear his cape. And as though being Champion for over ten years didn’t mean anything, he always had to wear his Champion uniform so everybody would recognize him. Orders of Chairman Rose. Sometimes, Leon wondered how life would be without him holding his hand through everything. Though certain people, like Raihan, liked to refer to their relationship rather as _Rose holding Leon on a short leash_. But Leon was sure Rose meant well. After all, he was deeply indebted to him. Without Rose, Leon would be nothing.

“LEEEE! Breakfast is almost ready!”, Hop shouted from downstairs, interrupting Leon’s thoughts, and he almost jumped in surprise. It wasn’t even eight yet, why where they up so early? And how did he not realize they were awake yet? What was wrong with him?!

“Coming!”, he shouted, hastily getting dressed and putting his Pokémon back in their Pokéballs. Sobble didn’t like that, but Leon assured him they would eat together. The weather was rather nice after all and they could probably eat outside like they used to when Hop was still nothing more than a baby. Thinking of it, Leon really looked forward to it and smiled before he rushed downstairs – careful not to fall – and placed a kiss on his Mom’s temple. As expected, everything was already prepared in their garden, even for all the Pokémon. Leon didn’t hesitate to let his partners roam free again and Sobble jumped in excitement when it saw Grookey again. The two of them even shared their food with each other, which was quite the sight, but nevertheless very cute.

Breakfast took a while. They had much to talk about and Hop asked him a million questions about what they were going to do today. Leon promised he would tell him as soon as Victor was here, but of course that didn’t slow him down. But this passion was one of the things Leon loved so much about his brother. They were quite similar in that aspect of their personalities and for a brief moment he wondered if this ever would become a problem. He sure hoped it wouldn’t.

Before he could dwell in these thoughts any longer, he noticed Sobble and Grookey running towards… Victor’s Scorbunny? Well, what a surprise. It seemed like little Victor and Scorbunny trusted each other a lot already for him to let it run ahead like this. On the other hand: They had no reason to not trust each other and Leon was sure they would make a great team in the future. Speaking of which… he should probably tell them what he had planned for the day. But not before seeing a great fight! All in all, he was here to make sure everyone had a Champion time!

And they did. Their busy day ended at Professor Magnolia’s house; the two new trainers caught up in another battle so Leon would endorse them for the Gym challenge. He honestly had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but he sure understood why they wanted to do it. Leon himself had set foot into the wide world of Galar when he was only ten years old. But he was scared now. Not for himself, rather for Hop and Victor. The Gym challenge was no laughing matter. It was blood, sweat and tears all the way and it took its toll. At the latest when they would face each other and their other rivals in the Gym finalists’ challenge in Wyndon. After this, most of the trainers were pushed into the spotlight, not being able to have a private moment for years after that. But maybe that was just his experience speaking. And maybe they wouldn’t even make it that far.

“Victor! Hop! Well, after seeing a match like that one… I suppose I’ve little choice but to give you both an endorsement as Champion!”, he finally gave in and handed the two of them their letters of endorsement. The first trainers Leon ever had endorsed. One of them being his brother. He already saw the headlines flashing before his inner eye. Rose wouldn’t be amused. But what was he supposed to do? Say no to his little brother? He was not a monster. And it was the right thing to do.

A little while later, they sat around Professor Magnolia’s kitchen table and chitchatted about everything and nothing at all, Leon’s phone rang and he cringed when Rotom announced it was Chairman Rose. A little hesitant, Leon answered the call, listening to what Rose had to say. Meanwhile, his expression got grimmer. After the call ended, Leon looked around – briefly meeting everyone’s gaze -, an apologetic look on his face.

“I’m sorry… I’m needed in Wyndon. Apparently, something came up and they can’t deal with it without me.”

Leon didn’t even need to look at his brother to know his face showed nothing but disappointment and quiet resentment at his words. With his head hanging low, he left the four of them and got back to Postwick on Charizard to pack his things and order a flying taxi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm sorry for the bit of angst, but... I had no choice, I swear. Let me know what you think :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rotom is a little trickster and Rose just knows how to push all of Leon's buttons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance! This is a little angsty again, but I promise it will get better.  
> (Also: I don't know how regularly I will be able to update, my life has taken some very weird turns right now...)

Leon let out a relaxed sigh as he felt his muscles relax in the warm water. His purple hair was mostly floating, covering his upper body when he sunk further into the bathtub. It was close to midnight and he was pretty sure his downstairs neighbors had heard him fill the tub, but he honestly couldn’t bring himself to care. He could still apologize in the morning if they were bothered by it.

The meeting with Chairman Rose had been too tiring, his reaction to Leon telling him about the endorsement too emotionally straining for him. He had looked forward to spending time with his brother, but what did he get? Another 90-hour-week, probably. And a lecture about his public image and how his actions affected them all. Them, meaning Rose and Macro Cosmos. When Leon had come home, he was tempted to call Raihan about it before realizing how late it had gotten. He hadn’t even bothered to let his Pokémon out, because they were probably already asleep, and he didn’t want to disturb them. Calling Hop also wasn’t an option, his younger brother should also be sleeping to gather energy for the Gym challenge ahead of him. The only other person Leon could’ve called was Sonia, but he didn’t like calling her out of the blue and especially not when it was about feelings like this. In hopes of finding relaxation he had chosen the only viable option left: the bathtub.

Though he appreciated the effect it had on his body, he realized his mind was running in circles. This wasn’t news, he wasn’t able to recall the last time he had been able to just relax and shut his brain up at the same time. It was always the same. Anxious thoughts, wondering if he should have done things differently in this lifetime. If he would ever know what it felt like to be loved by someone. Asking himself if his mind was just playing tricks on him when he got flashbacks of previous lifetimes spent with his soulmate. Thinking that maybe, all his dreams about the monster Eternatus had just been a sick joke of his brain to worry him. What if he was going crazy? It certainly felt like it sometimes. Especially when Leon thought about Raihan.

Other times his mind was perfectly clear, just like the water in South Lake Miloch. He was peaceful then, but it usually didn’t last long. Restlessness was his default state by now. And it probably always will be. But then again, didn’t Leon want it that way? Being the champion, being loved by the people of Galar and getting the chance to battle against the strongest Pokémon trainers was sure worth it. He could stand a little anxiety and loneliness. The fear of never being good enough… well, that was another jar he shouldn’t open now.

“Rotom… would you mind opening PokéGram for me?”, he said, a heavy sigh leaving his lips. Of course, Rotom did just as he asked and opened the App for him, hovering close enough to his face that Leon was able to see the pictures and stories there. Rotom also knew just how long it needed to pause for Leon to see everything and then scroll down further. But even if it didn’t: There wasn’t much to see right now. Hop had uploaded a photo of him and Victor, the caption mentioned them heading to Motostoke tomorrow. Sonia had uploaded a picture of the curry she had made for all of them tonight and Leon wished he didn’t have to leave so early. But alas, he didn’t have a choice.

The rest of his feed was the usual. His fellow League members uploading the typical _it’s-that-time-of-the-year-the-gym-challenge-starts-this-week_ posts. He didn’t have to look at all of them in detail as they were mostly the same every year. But then –

“Stop, scroll up to this last post again, please.” Leon tried to sound calm and collected, but as soon as he saw the picture, his heart missed a beat. Of course, Raihan had to bloody up all the other gym leaders with his post. He was so pretentious, sometimes Leon wondered how they got along in the first place. However, even the champion wasn’t able to deny the fact that his greatest rival had outdone himself this time. He was flying on the back of his Flygon, high up in the air with a seemingly small Hammerlocke stadium in the background. He wore his uniform and it was clear they were going on a high speed, since Raihan’s hair was a mess from the sudden change of directions and the wind. Leon wondered how long it had taken him to get this shot. Probably not long. After all, he was a natural. And he looked so happy. His cyan eyes shining brightly, his smile a little mischievous as though he planned on robbing the Hammerlocke vault all on his own. The grip the Gym leader had around Leon’s heart tightened while he looked at the photo and for a second, he thought he wouldn’t be able to breathe again. How foolish could he get? Rai was his best friend, his greatest rival. Nothing more. He couldn’t let what he knew from former lifetimes influence how he felt anymore. Especially when it was clear that Rai wasn’t at all interested in him. Why else would he keep dating other people?

* * *

The next morning, Leon woke up to tons of notifications from his Pokégram and two missed calls from Raihan. And – oh bloody hell, he was supposed to be in Hammerlocke by now. Shit. Rose would be so mad at him.

“Rotom, call Raihan.”, the Champion ordered while hastily jumping out of bed and dressing himself. Funnily enough, Rotom being the little trickster he was, it started a video call – which Leon didn’t notice until Rai whistled appreciatively.

“Oh, oh. Champ. What a nice treat in the morning, to what do I owe the honor?” Raihan’s voice was laced with mischief and Leon blushed slightly at the words. He had no time for this!

“G’morning to you, too. Can you please stall Rose until I get to Hammerlocke? I just woke up, but I was supposed to meet him at the power plant… about 10 minutes ago.” Leon looked pleadingly at his friend, while pulling a shirt out of his closet.

“I mean, sure. But weren’t you s’posed to stay with Hop in Postwick for the next week? What happened to that? I mean, you endorsed him and all, shouldn’t you be showing him the ropes and everything?”, his rival replied without a care in the world, but Leon noticed he was walking now. As far as he could tell, the guy was in the stadium already so it shouldn’t take long until he got to Rose.

“Yeah, but you know how it goes. Got an emergency call from Rose yesterday and had to head back to Wyndon right away. He talked some nonsense about a power crisis and all. Don’t really know what to think of it, to be honest.” Leon was fully dressed now – thank Arceus – and brushing his hair when he noticed something. “Wait… how do you know I endorsed Hop?” Confusion was written all over his face and he furled his eyebrows.

“It’s all over the news, you absolute wanker. How else would I know? You don’t tell me anything these days!”, Raihan responded with a laugh, but Leon only sighed. He should have known. Of course, Rose would get the news out as soon as possible so he could market it to his own liking. What had he expected? That he’d keep it to himself? Sooner or later, everyone would know anyway. Maybe it was better to get it out like this. It would keep the backlash to a minimum. Still… he wished Hop had had a quieter start to the Gym challenge.

“Mhm. Gotta go now, see you in a bit!” A sad smile graced his lips as he stopped the call. After he put his long hair up in a ponytail, he quickly brushed his teeth and made sure he had everything he needed packed already. On the other hand, he wouldn’t need much. He practically always lived at Raihan’s place when he was in Hammerlocke. He also ordered a Flying Taxi – he could fly on his Charizard’s back, but he didn’t have breakfast yet. It was never good to make Charizard do stuff without food first. Which, honestly? Was totally relatable. Leon also preferred to at least eat breakfast before leaving the house, but today he didn’t have the time. He’d have to grab a small treat in Hammerlocke.

Then again… maybe it would have been a better idea to fly to Hammerlocke on Charizard. He was faster. And Leon wouldn’t have had the time and chance to scroll through all of his notifications. Sure, it was mostly positive and happy comments about him endorsing his own brother. People seemed to be really excited to get to know him and see his potential. But as always, there were mean and rude comments as well. “ _Of course, he’d endorse his brother! He’s too pretentious to see anyone else’s potential.”,_ or, _“Hop wasn’t able to get another endorsement and had to beg his brother, the champion, to get one? Duh, what a loser.”_ , were some of the nicer comments this morning. People like the latter made him very angry, though: Leon could deal with bad publicity for himself, but they didn’t have to talk badly about Hop. He had done nothing wrong and didn’t deserve any of this. Luckily, Leon knew his brother would become a great trainer and would prove them all wrong. He was sure of it.

“We’re almost there, Sir.”, the driver’s voice sounded from above and Leon was pulled out of his thoughts by that. He readied himself for the landing – making sure all his Pokéballs were still where they belonged, adjusting his clothing one last time and practicing his signature smile once more.

“Can you maybe land somewhere near the Pokémon Center?” At least he could pretend he got lost when he came from there and Rose didn’t see the giant Corviknight he arrived with. And he’d have some minutes to calm down. Which was always good after comments like these.

Soon, they landed, and Leon thanked the driver politely, adding a huge tip and petting the Corviknight before they left again. He acted as unobtrusive as possible, but his huge red sponsor cape didn’t go unnoticed for long. Actually, it didn’t even take a whole minute before he was surrounded by Fans who all wanted his autograph. And his explanation why he had decided to endorse Hop and Victor. After all, he could’ve endorsed anyone! Even years ago, but he hadn’t. They wanted to know why he had changed his mind, but Leon was a little at a loss for words, so he tried to give mostly ambiguous answers.

“And of course, I will make sure everyone has a Champion time!” Striking his signature pose, Leon bid goodbye to his fans and hurried to make it to Hammerlocke Gym. He was already an hour late. Rose and Oleana would not be amused, not at all.

Speaking of the devil, both of them were already waiting in front of the stadium, Raihan nowhere in sight. Leon put on a brave face, smiling like an oblivious idiot and still hurrying toward the entrance.

“You’re late.”, Oleana finally noted, her face being the usual calm and collected façade.

“Yeah, sorry. I got lost on the way!”

“So Gym leader Raihan wasn’t here to save you some time, because you had actually not left Wyndon yet?” Rose’s voice was cold as ice and a cold chill ran down Leon’s spine. How did he know? Had Raihan talked? Impossible.

“I – I’m… I apologize, Sir.”, the champion said with feeble voice and didn’t dare to look the chairman in the eyes. He didn’t say anything about this right then and there, instead he waited until they were in the lift leading to the power plant below Hammerlocke stadium.

“You have your responsibilities, Leon. You agreed to that ten years ago, when you took the title of the champion. Do I need to remind you of that?” Leon’s gaze was fixated on the floor when he shook his head. The chairman didn’t need to remind him. He had only done so yesterday.

“Then why is it that you still do everything so carelessly? I told you yesterday this meeting was important. For Galar’s future. And you couldn’t even be bothered to get out of bed. Do Galar’s people mean nothing to you?” He could feel the chairman’s gaze burning into him, the look on his face probably showing how disappointed he was in Leon.

“But Sir, you said –“

“I said what I said Leon. You need to take this seriously for once in your life! Or can you not do that? Maybe it’s good you endorsed your brother and the young challenger Victor after all. Maybe you are too weak to truly help the people of Galar. They might understand better.” Leon clenched his teeth and fists, worried he might do something he’d later regret. But why couldn’t he just leave Hop out of this? This had nothing to do with him!

Silence accompanied them for the rest of the way downstairs. Not even Oleana dared to make one of her snarky remarks. Meanwhile Leon’s mind ran in circles again, Rose’s words having hit all the wrong buttons in his brain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Tell me if you liked it, if you want, you can follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/juleatic)!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raihan to the rescue. Sobble is being Sobble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I apologize for the angst in the last chapters! Promise this chapter isn't angsty at all and the next also won't be :D

Almost panting, Leon took a look at Dragapult and Mr. Mime. The latter didn’t look very amused, but after shaking himself for a second, he seemed to have gained composure again. Well, if Leon had just gotten Flamethrower shot at him, he’d probably be a little confused, too. They did well, though. Dragapult really had learned how to deal with its weaknesses. Though, Mr. Mime still seemed to be more than happy to keep going. Just like the rest of his Pokémon. Charizard, Haxorus and Aegislash even battled each other without showing mercy. Aegislash had an obvious disadvantage here but alternating between its stances seemed to keep the other two on their toes. Haxorus seemed to slowly lose her patience and Charizard’s stamina also seemed depleted. Maybe Aegislash would win against the two? That sure would be a surprise.

_“Sobble?”_ The small Pokémon at his side started climbing up his leg and pressed what seemed to be a kiss to his temple.

“Sorry, mate. I’m a little worn out. You’re really fast, you know that?!”, Leon said between breaths and patted the blue baby on its head. While the others had battled each other, Leon had started training with Sobble. He needed it to clear his head, but he also figured it would actually help to tighten the bond between them. Only that Sobble had outrun him on like four of five occasions. For a small baby with close to no legs it was very bloody fast.

_“Sobble!”_ , it nearly screamed at him, jumping down from his shoulder and excitedly jumping up and down on the spot before him. It seemed eager to train with someone other than Leon. But was it ready yet? He was still so small, and it had been a while since his team had a newcomer amidst its ranks. The last one being Mr. Mime who he had caught when he got lost in a blizzard close to Wyndon. Back then he had only wanted to get his dragons some training, but then the storm started, and he got lost before he even had been able to say Charizard. Luckily, Mr. Mime then had been kind enough to escort them back to Wyndon. Leon had then caught it, because it refused to go back, and he couldn’t leave it at the gates. He didn’t regret it – Mr. Mime was an extremely helpful companion, though sometimes his tapping performances annoyed the rest of his team. Leon enjoyed them, however, and it seemed to make Mr. Mime happy as well.

He was still contemplating about the next steps in Sobble’s training when he heard the familiar tapping sound and just as quick as it had started, two Dreepies showed up beside him. They looked very annoyed, but he had just the idea on how to change that.

“You will never get used to it, hm?”, he said, tickling their chins before looking down at Sobble.

“You two think you’re ready to show this little guy some tricks? I’m totally busted.” To accentuate his statement, he sat down – still panting – and looked at them pleadingly. On second guess, he probably didn’t have to do that: They seemed very eager to finally get some _playtime_ and started their usual mischief on Sobble. Confused, the little guy started crying and they rushed to him. Little did they know it was a stunt Sobble always pulled to confuse its enemies. As soon as they were close to him, he promptly used Pound. The Dreepies looked at it with bewilderment in their eyes but it soon changed to something more determined. Leon knew what was going on: If Sobble thought it could trick them, they would show it, that really? It couldn’t.

So now that all the children were settled and had stuff to do: What was Leon going to keep himself busy with? He still wasn’t tired out enough to be sure his mind wouldn’t play any more tricks on him. But he was also too tired to do anything else, really. Luckily, a familiar voice greeted him from across the pitch.

“Can’t get enough again, Champ?”, Raihan called out to him and slowly made his way to him while watching Leon’s Pokémon. The Dreepies were now chasing Sobble, alternating between scaring and attacking it. Of course, Leon had an eye on them to make sure nothing serious would happen. But Sobble seemed to enjoy it, as did the two little dragons.

“I wish. Just… had to get my mind off some things. This usually helps.”, Leon answered, nodding at his Pokémon.

“That bad? Rose said it was fine and the meeting wasn’t all that important. You shouldn’t beat yourself up about it so much, Lee.” If only it was that easy. Raihan didn’t even know the truth. Telling him Rose was a manipulative bastard wouldn’t work. Everyone loved Rose. No one would believe Leon, if he claimed anything else.

“It’s fine, really. How did you know I was here anyway?”

“Have you forgotten this is _my_ Gym? As if I didn’t see you working your buddies from my office. Tsk.”, Raihan answered his question before holding up his hands. Leon hadn’t noticed yet, but it seemed like Rai had brought some food.

“Sorry ‘bout that. But you really didn’t have to bring food?” It was always enormously awkward for Leon to accept gifts or good deeds from his friends. But especially if they came from Raihan.

“It’s your favorite Alolan dish. Thought that might cheer you up.” Leon’s eyes lit up immediately.

“It does. Oh my god, thank you. I didn’t even realize I’m hungry but ugh, I’m _so_ hungry.” Raihan sat down next to him and handed Leon his portion. Then he blew him a kiss, making Leon blush.

“Everything for you, great Champion. How would the people of Galar react if they found out you starved to death in _my_ stadium?” Both of them laughed at that, Raihan a little longer than Leon and Leon found himself admiring the sound for a few seconds. It was beautiful, he wished he could hear it more often.

“Well, I guess they’d slaughter you for killing their great unbeatable Champion.”, he said jokingly and slowly started eating.

“What were you doing in your office at this time, though? Don’t you usually leave around eight?” It was unusual for Raihan to stay too long at the Gym. Also, doing paperwork usually wasn’t his most favorite thing to do in the evening.

“Yeah. But since the Gym challenge starts again soon, many people want a lot of stuff from me suddenly. You know it.” A sigh left Raihan’s lips before he also started eating. The next fifteen minutes between them were spent silently, only occasionally a small sound was heard when they burnt themselves on their food or when it was particularly tasty. Leon’s Pokémon also started to come to an end with their training and they joined the two trainers, waiting patiently to also get their long-deserved meal. Thus, Leon stopped eating for a second and prepared everything. For another fifteen minutes, nothing but munching sounds were heard and even though both Raihan and Leon were done with their meals long before that, they didn’t talk. They just sat there, relishing the moment and each other’s presence. Until Raihan finally broke the silence.

“So. Do tell. Hop. And Victor. What made you change your mind? You always said you didn’t want _this lifestyle_ for Hop.” Raihan made a gesture at the gym and Leon’s Pokémon and he couldn’t help but sigh at the words.

“Well. Yeah. I don’t want that for him. But that little bugger just kept asking me. And you should’ve seen them battling. I swear, I’ve never felt this energy in battles before, except for when we do it.”, he looked into Raihan’s cyan eyes before he continued, “And I mean… he’s gotta make his own experiences, so who am I to keep him from that. Also, if I hadn’t endorsed him, he probably would’ve found another poor guy to do it.” Leon shrugged and patted Sobble on its big head, before it climbed into his lap. “I’m really excited to see how far they’ll come; you know? Hop’s still a little stiff in battle and he overthinks a lot, but he’s got the spirit. He’s also just great with Pokémon, I’ve known this since the day we got him Wooloo.” That happened almost five years ago, but to Leon it felt like yesterday. “Victor… well, he’s something else. He already caught a whole team while he was on his way to Professor Magnolia. Can you believe it? Either that kid has a serious hoarding problem, or he just knows what he wants. Maybe it’s a bit of both.”, the champion finished and looked at his own Pokémon. He wondered what the two youngsters’ teams would look like once they got around and decided on a battle style they wanted to follow.

“Let’s just hope you didn’t dig your own grave here, Lee. Would be a shame if one of them threw you of your throne.” Oh, how Leon would’ve loved nothing more than to kiss that smug grin right off Raihan’s face. But he wouldn’t. Couldn’t.

“Haven’t you heard? I’m the unbeatable Champion. No one can beat me!”, he then exclaimed and chuckled a little when his Pokémon looked at him in confusion. Only then did he realize that most of them had already been already half asleep – including Sobble in his lap. “They’re also not allowed to beat me. That’s your job, remember?” He scooted a little closer to Raihan and put his head on the taller man’s shoulder. The sheepish smile following this action was probably not noticeable for Rai. It still had Leon’s heart pounding in his chest, though. This got worse when Raihan put his arm around his shoulders, pressing Leon closer to him. Ugh, he smelled so good.

“Getting tired there, champ?” Leon jumped at the words. He didn’t realize he had almost fallen asleep. When he looked around, his Pokémon were already fast asleep except for Sobble. He had decided to jump into Raihan’s lap now. And of course, Raihan gave him the best possible treatment. A whole tummy massage, with occasional tickles under its chin and on its arms. Obviously, the little one really loved it and little giggle sounds escaped from its lips. However, Leon was indeed getting tired.

“Hm. We should head home. Don’t you have to be up early tomorrow, too?”, Leon mumbled on Rai’s shoulder and slowly sat up straight again.

“I guess. I don’t wanna, though. Can’t we just skip adult life and escape to the Wild Area for a bit?” Raihan’s voice was laced with the exact feelings Leon had about being an adult. It was just so frustrating.

“We could. But I’d probably get in trouble with Chairman Rose and you… well, the triplets aren’t going easy on you either, are they?” A defeated sigh from Raihan followed these words and he nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. But let’s still do this some time, yeah? It’s been a while.” Leon also nodded in agreement. He knew. And he’d much rather spend time with Raihan camping in the Wild Area instead of doing all those stupid things Champions had to do. But it was how it was. And neither of them could easily change that, unfortunately.

“I’ll try to make some time. But you know how it is now that the Gym challenge is about to start.” He stood up, clearing his clothes, and offering Raihan a hand immediately after. His rival took it, just to tower over him yet again. At least there’s one thing he’d always beat him at.

“Yeah… but Lee, don’t… overdo it, okay? You need to take some time off sometimes.” Leon appreciated the sentiment, but he knew that already. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the one to decide how he spent his time.

“I’ll try. But let’s head home now, okay?”, he asked Raihan, before getting his Pokémon back into their balls. His rival nodded in agreement and so they left Hammerlocke Gym to go to Raihan’s place, where Leon had his own room. Upstairs, because he happened to be here rather often. They said goodnight after taking turns in the bathroom, but Leon was awake for a few hours more, overthinking.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor has a crush on Bede. Hop doesn't like.  
> Also, the three best friends finally spend some time together again!

A few days later, Leon was roaming around in his Wyndon flat, trying to tidy up a little. Sonia and Raihan had insisted on coming over – it was one of Leon’s rare free evenings and the three of them hadn’t hung out together much these past few months. It had either been Sonia and Leon, Leon and Raihan or Raihan and Sonia, but their schedule had never aligned completely. Still, he didn’t know if this was a good idea. Sure, they always had a good time together, but he actually had planned on training his team a little bit – Sobble was growing fast, but if it was to take part in the Champion Cup with him later this year, the blue baby still had a long way to go. At least it seemed to enjoy its life so far, which was what’s most important. But maybe a short break – even if just for an evening – would be good for Leon. Ever since he came back from Postwick, his schedule had been filled to the brim with _important League stuff_ and except for that night he spent at Raihan’s place, he didn’t really have time to breathe. Was he really in the mood to hang out, though? Well, guess there was no other way than to find out. 

Leon was finally done, and his flat looked somewhat inviting, when his Rotom phone rang.

“It’s your brother, champ!”, Rotom announced and Leon told it to take the call.

“Hop! How have you been? You looked great at the opening ceremony, by the way. Sorry I didn’t have time to talk afterwards.”, Leon apologized and sat down on his sofa.

“It’s fine, Lee. Victor and I just arrived at Turrfield and we’ll be off to battle Milo in a bit!” His little brother’s voice was excited as ever and he could imagine him bouncing up and down on the spot with sheer anticipation. Leon had felt exactly the same back then, when he was about to face his first Gym. Oh, the good old days.

“Nice! I’m gonna wish you luck – not that you’ll need it. You’ve probably already prepared your team for the challenge ahead.” He smiled and took a look at the pictures in his bookshelf. He couldn’t believe Hop had already grown so much. Back when they caught Wooloo he was still so small.

“I sure hope so! By the way, Victor is unbelievable. He already caught over 30 different Pokémon species! Can you believe it, Lee? That dude is insane!” His brother sounded a little frustrated, mentioning this. Leon cocked his eyebrow, unaware that Hop wouldn’t be able to see it.

“You sound like that’s a bad thing?”

“Well… technically, no. But he catches _everything_ , Lee. By now he must have ten of each of them. I keep telling him he can’t hoard them, because what’s he gonna do? But he won’t listen. And then he just looks at me with his cute face and shows me every single one of them and tells me stories about them. It’s driving me mad, Lee!” The champion raised his eyebrows again at the mention of Victor’s _cute face_. He didn’t see why this was worth mentioning, but whatever.

“Ugh, so the kid really _does_ have a hoarding problem. I saw it coming. But Hop? There’s probably nothing you can do about it. And as long as he treats them well, it’s alright.”, Leon said with a sigh. Sure, it wasn’t good to take so much wildlife at once. But he was able to understand why. After all, every single Pokémon was freaking cute. And as long as it was only Victor who did stuff like this, it would be fine. And maybe he would see sooner or later, that getting too many of them would be kind of exhausting.

However, Hop didn’t seem to be satisfied with this solution yet. Leon heard a sigh from the end of the line, but before he could ask about it, Hop changed the subject.

“He also fought that kid Bede in the mine. And he hasn’t stopped talking about him since then. ‘ _Bede’s hair is so great!_ ’, ‘ _You should’ve seen his skin! Perfection!_ ’, ‘ _The coat really makes his cute eyes pop!_ ’.”, Hop mimicked his rival, but Leon had a problem focusing for a second. Bede? Wasn’t that the kid Rose had endorsed? And wasn’t he supposed to find Wishing Stars? Maybe Leon confused things. That often happened when he was stressed. But Leon could think about this later, right now Hop wanted his attention. Leon smiled a little when he thought about how upset his brother sounded.

“Are you jealous, Hop?” A little teasing wouldn’t hurt.

“What? No! Why would I-“, his brother stopped midsentence, before continuing with a sigh, “… Well, maybe I am. But that’s totally normal between rivals! Do you remember that one time Raihan took Oleana out for dinner and you were just furious? It’s probably like that.”

Leon couldn’t help but break into a laugh. He almost forgot this had actually happened.

“No, it’s not. I was only furious, because Oleana is kind of my boss. And when your best friend and rival goes out with your boss, that’s what you call unprofessional. You’re just jealous because you like Victor.” Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie. But he could practically feel Hop’s eye-roll.

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. It didn’t sound like that to me back then. And you can’t tell me Raihan isn’t more than a friend to you, Lee.” Now it was Leon’s turn to roll his eyes. Of course, Hop was right. But he needn’t know that. “Also: So what if I like Victor? That’s not going to change a thing. I mean, he’s obviously got a crush on that Bede guy. The dude who doesn’t look anything like me. Can’t compete here.” The sadness in Hop’s voice crushed Leon’s heart and he wished he could comfort him better at this moment. After all, he knew what it felt like. To be in love with someone but being unable to act on it for various reasons.

“Don’t be so negative. Victor’ll probably come around and realize what a great guy you are. And if he doesn’t: So be it. You’ll find someone who’ll look at you like you’re the world to them, I’m sure.” Hopefully, this would cheer Hop up.

“Ugh, Lee. You’re so soppy, you know that?”, Leon’s little brother said and made a gagging sound, before he started laughing. “Thank you, though. Talk to you again soon? I should probably head to the gym now.”

“You’re welcome, little brother. And show Milo how it’s done! I believe in you!”, Leon cheered him on, hoping it would calm Hop’s nerves a little. Or maybe it didn’t help, he realized. Placing such expectations on him might even get it totally wrong. However… Hop probably knew what he was trying to say and wouldn’t mind. Leon hoped, at least.

A look at the clock told him he had exactly… 8 minutes until Sonia and Raihan would arrive. If they weren’t early as they usually were. He looked around the apartment again, but it seemed presentable for such a short notice. And who was he kidding? His best friends were coming over, it didn’t actually matter what it looked like here. They’ve known him for most of his life, they knew he wasn’t one to tidy up to a T.

Just as Leon thought about this, the doorbell rang, and he jumped up to let his two best friends in. They flung their arms around each other and Leon had to be careful not to linger too long in Raihan’s embrace, his smell once more infatuating him. It was pathetic, really. But how could they blame him: Raihan just smelled too good. After a few seconds he let go, smiling at his friends and asking them to sit down so he could bring them something to drink.

“So. What are we gonna order?”, Sonia asked them gleefully and made herself comfortable in one of his armchairs.

“Maybe Kantonian? Rai bought me Alolan a few days ago, so I’m kind of not into that today.” Leon watched as Raihan sat down in his usual spot on the sofa and put his long legs on it as well.

“Kantonian sounds good, mate.”, Raihan answered and both him and Sonia nodded in agreement.

“Kantonian it is.” The champion offered a smile, set a Lemonade and a Fresh Water onto the table and then asked Rotom to look for the menu of a Kantonian restaurant with delivery service. It didn’t take long to find one – almost exclusively with five-star-reviews as well! That was going to be a feast! Leon sat down on the sofa as well, putting Raihan’s legs over his lap, while they decided what they wanted to eat. It took longer than expected, but after about ten minutes or so, all three of them were settled and they finally ordered. Now it was time to wait.

“Hop just called, apparently they’re already in Turrfield and headed for the Gym.”, Leon then said and looked at Raihan with a smirk. “You know, they’re gonna be back in Hammerlocke in no time to challenge you.”

“Yeah, but I’ll show them what it means o be the great Raihan, the strongest gym leader of Galar. They won’t stand a chance, Lee!” There was a spark in Raihan’s eyes – unmistakably the same he always had while fighting Leon. He was excited for this. Just like Leon.

“Ugh, you two are so full of yourselves. Hop and Victor will probably kick both of your arses, just watch it.” Sonia rolled her eyes at them and twirled a streak of hair between her fingers. “Mind you, Raihan. You haven’t even seen them battle yet. Those kids are _good_.” She wasn’t a trainer anymore, but even she could sense the potential of the two new trainers. Leon didn’t mind, though.

“They are. But are they as good as we are?”, he said, a sly grin on his face. Of course, his brother and Victor were talented. But so were Raihan and himself. And they had more experience and time to prepare for the two. Ugh, that sounded like both of them were in this together. As though Rai wouldn’t try to win against Leon the first chance he got. But that’s how it has always been. And Leon would always beat him, no matter what. The two new trainers wouldn’t change that. After all, he was the unbeatable Champion. That had to account for something, right?

Sonia just snorted and shook her head.

“You’re unbelievable.”, was all she said, still shaking her head. She didn’t mention that she thought that maybe, just maybe, they should get a room. They were always spurring each other on, and it was getting annoying – at least as an outsider, it was damn hard to watch and she wished they’d finally come to their senses. But alas, it wasn’t in her power to make the two idiots realize things. So she just had to wait. Maybe one of them would get the courage to finally talk about their feelings. But who was Sonia to know?

A few minutes of more innocent bickering passed before their food finally arrived and Raihan jumped up from his position on the sofa to get it. Leon was sad for the sudden loss of weight on his legs, but his tummy rumbled at the thought of food. Luckily, Rai was back soon – a stupid, wide grin plastered on his face – and did the sensible thing: Placing the food on the kitchen table. Sonia and Leon hurried over while Rai already got some chopsticks for the three of them.

“Aaaah, it smells delicious.”, they said in unison when they sat down. They were still laughing about it when Rai also finally sat down and handed them the chopsticks.

“Let’s eat please, I’m _really_ hungry.”, Raihan grumbled and Leon cocked his eyebrows of this. Was he suddenly in a mood? Hm. Probably really just hungry. But Sonia seemed to have noticed it too judging by the confused look on her face. But they let it slide and started eating instead. It was, in fact, delicious.

Time then passed very quickly: After eating they sat down comfortably in the living room again, just talking about everything that’s been going on in their lives. Later, they started playing some racing games on Leon’s Switch and surprisingly, Sonia smoked both of them. She claimed she had been practicing, but between all the stuff she had to do for her grandma, Leon figured there might not actually be enough time left. It was also Sonia who fell asleep first, very uncomfortably, in his armchair. Raihan and Leon giggled a little about that, but let her sleep, because she had probably been awake before either of them were. They kept talking quietly, however, Raihan finally falling asleep in Leon’s lap and Leon too tired to panic about it. It was a good day. He was happy, like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter is gonna be real cute as well :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up to find your best friend (and crush) is sleeping on you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told y'all this is secretely a Sobble fanfic.

„Rai, your head’s too heavy…”, Leon said, his eyes still half-closed. His body felt like he had slept every which way on the couch instead of his bed. Oh wait, that’s exactly what happened. And to tell by the heavy weight on his chest, Raihan was indeed still lying on him.

“’s too early, Lee. Just ten more minutes.”, his best friend murmured against his shirt and Leon couldn’t help but blush. It didn’t get better when he finally opened his eyes and realized how intertwined they had been sleeping. Leon mostly on his back, with Raihan atop of him. The dragon trainer’s hands were somewhat busy hugging Leon’s waist, while their legs… well, they were tangled to say the least. How did that happen? He didn’t remember changing positions, but he definitely fell asleep sitting. Hm, whatever. It was cozy and the selfish part within him encouraged him to take the ten minutes and just bask in the feeling of Raihan, resting heavy on him and being comfortable. Wouldn’t be too bad to wake up like this every morning, to be honest.

Absentmindedly, Leon ran his fingers through Raihan’s dark locks, earning an approving hum in result. The gym leader probably didn’t realize it, but he buried his face deeper in Leon’s chest and wrapped his arms tighter around Leon’s body. This made Leon’s heart jump – or rather, it started running a marathon. It felt like every second it would burst out of his chest. His cheeks felt hot and he was sure his face was scarlet red by now; nevertheless, he proceeded with his action in his best friend’s hair. Would be rude to stop now, wouldn’t it? Trying to distract himself from the sheer cuteness he witnessed, he let his gaze wander and realized Sonia was already awake. She must have done stuff on her phone until a few moments prior, but now she was definitely looking at the two of them. And she was judging them. When Leon’s gaze caught her eyes, she smirked knowingly, snapping a picture of the two the next second. The shutter of the phone’s camera lead to Raihan finally opening his eyes, though.

“Hey! ‘s not fair, ’m barely awake. Don’t post that!”, he complained and, in an attempt to sit himself upright, tickled Leon before bumping his head on Leon’s chin. Ouch. Leon scratched himself there for a second, before looking at Sonia.

“It’s really mean, Sonia. Look at him! He didn’t even have time to shoot a smile at the camera like he usually does!” Leon chuckled, before he saw the betrayed look on Raihan’s face. At that, he only mockingly stuck out his tongue. In return, his best friend pouted, and it was such an adorable sight, it made Leon blush _again_. Ugh, why was he like this so early in the morning?

“Up now, Rai. I meant it when I said you were getting heavy.” Almost immediately, the two of them sat up with a painful groan.

“Ugh, maybe next time we should look for a more comfortable sleeping spot, huh?” The cheeky smile that graced Raihan’s lip had Leon swallowing hard. The only more comfortable spot in his apartment was his bed. And he wasn’t sure Raihan would be okay to share that space with him. On the other hand… Leon’s feelings were the more problematic part of this proposition. After all, Rai couldn’t know it would be uncomfortable for Leon, to say the least.

“Okay you two lovebirds. I’m actually starving here, can we maybe just grab some food already?”, Sonia interrupted Leon’s thoughts and he hadn’t noticed how he had still been staring at Raihan until then. He quickly turned away under the pretence of needing to stretch himself. Which, obviously, he really needed to do after sleeping in a weird position for the whole night.

“I _guess_ we can go out and eat something. Have some coffee. Oh man, I really need that coffee.”, Leon then explained before standing up and yawning – almost as if to bring his point across. Raihan just clicked his tongue in annoyance. Well, it wasn’t actual news the dragon trainer liked to sleep in a little longer. But they all had stuff to attend to, which meant they should be quick about the whole breakfast thing. At least they would be able to spend a little more time together before the day really begun.

* * *

_Slowly shifting around in its confinement, it began to wake. ‘Killkillkill’, the only thought on its mind. But it wasn’t enough yet. It had to wait just a little bit longer. It needed more energy. A lot more. But it wouldn’t take long. After all, time was a construct created by humans. What did a few more months mean, after hundreds of years? It would rise. And destroy. And take revenge on the one who did this to him._

_But for now, it had to wait. Shifting again, it put itself back to sleep. There was no rush. No use in wasting precious energy. All in its own time. When it’d finally be free again, its destruction would know no mercy._

* * *

When Leon came home this evening, he was content. In fact, he felt really good. Seeing both his best friends had felt invigorating and it had left him with a happy hum in his bones which he could still feel throughout the day. It made working less straining and even some of Rose’s rude comments about him had just bounced off him and not bothered him at all. This in turn had made his Pokémon extra happy when it was finally their turn to spend time with him and his good mood had definitely influenced their training. Sobble didn’t even cry once! And he had taught Dragapult a new move which would hopefully surprise Raihan in their next match against each other. It was a good day. Still, he was happy he was home now.

Sighing, he sat down on the couch and started scrolling through his Social Media. Hop and Victor already were on their way to Hulburry – of course they had beaten Milo with ease – and they both shared a picture of the Curry they made together. It looked delicious, but what surprised him more was the fact that both of the Pokémon Leon had given them, had already evolved. Well, it wasn’t that surprising. He was just wondering why Sobble didn’t show any signs that it was going to evolve soon. After all, they had trained hard so far and with the moves it had learned so far it should actually have evolved a while ago. Something was off. Time to get to the bottom of this.

“ _Sobble?_ ”, the small baby questioned Leon when he let it out of its Pokéball, before he jumped into Leon’s lap. Leon smiled at it and patted its head, before carefully examining Sobble’s body, for any signs of an imminent evolution. But he didn’t find anything.

“Huh? Little one, don’t you wanna evolve soon?”, he then asked, his gaze resting on Sobble. It wasn’t a problem. He was just… worried.

“ _Sobble!_ ” The scream rang in Leon’s ears and he watched in panic as his Pokémon started wailing, tears running down its face and its breathing getting more ragged as it seemed to panic.

“Ssshh, it’s fine!” He reached out to get it back on his lap, but it slapped his hand away and moved further away from him. The sight made Leon’s heart feel tight. He didn’t know what to do – or what was happening in the first place.

“Hey, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you. What’s wrong?”

“ _Sobble!_ ”, it said angrily, pouting at him, but still not stopping to cry.

“You… don’t want to evolve yet?” Leon carefully chose his words, not wanting to upset the little one further.

“ _Sobble!_ ”, it exclaimed and nodded in agreement. Okay. So this was why.

“It’s not a problem, Sobble. If you don’t want to evolve, you don’t have to.” Leon reached out again and this time, Sobble allowed him to touch it. He carefully caressed its cheeks, wiping away a few tears, before he continued: “I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. Your wellbeing is what’s most important to me, okay?” Sobble nodded. Okay, it seemed to understand. That made Leon feel a little better. “So if you’re not comfortable with evolving: Who cares! You’re already great. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Have you seen all my other Pokémon looking at you? They love you! You got them wrapped right around your little paw. Just the way you are.” As to accentuate it, he carefully touched one of Sobble’s paws and drew circles in the air around it. This made his Pokémon laugh in return. Now, that was better.

“ _Sobble?_ ” The blue baby looked up at its trainer with hesitation in its eyes. Leon just patted the space on his lap, indicating for Sobble to sit on it again. It happily obliged, trying to hug Leon in the process. Of course, its arms were too short to properly do it, nevertheless Leon hugged it back. He hoped it was feeling better now – he never meant to send it into that panic induced state. Seemed to be a real trigger for the little one. He wouldn’t mention it again.

“So… what do you wanna do? Watch a movie? Maybe hang out with the others a little?” A wide grin spread on Leon’s lips when Sobble nodded excitedly. “Well then, the whole family is going to watch a movie!”

He let his Pokémon out of their balls one by one and they all screamed really loud, happy to see them. Well, maybe a little too loud, because he still had neighbors. And it was already pretty late.

They settled comfortably around the room – his Charizard somewhere his tail couldn’t burn anything, Mr. Mime was far away from the heater, Aegislash and Haxorus sat somewhere where their blades wouldn’t be an issue and Dragapult hovered right next to Leon and Sobble. The champion meanwhile opened the streaming app on his TV and decided for some action movie. That was something he didn’t need to focus much on, and his Pokémon were always amazed by the stunts the movie crew pulled. This particular movie was a Hoenn production and a little bit older already. It was about two trainers who had to save the region from a particularly angry dragon type Pokémon named Rayquaza. Since it was a legendary, Rayquaza was done fully with CGI which was really impressive. He wondered if he would ever get to see one. Dragapult seemed to be able to read his thoughts, patted him on the shoulder and shook his head.

“Yeah, I thought so. Haven’t been to Hoenn at all. Wonder what it’s like there… Would you like to go there someday?”, Leon asked his partners and they all nodded, though a little shy. “Hm. Maybe we could go there someday. Once we’re not so busy. I would really like that.” He sighed quietly before focusing on the movie again. It wasn’t as exciting as he had thought, though. Or maybe he was just too tired? Either way: Somehow he managed to fall asleep on the sofa again, with Sobble still in his lap and Dragpult’s Dreepies hiding in his hair. Today his Pokémon were kind enough to wake him up before the night was over. In fact, the credits were still rolling when Sobble softly tugged on his hair and the Dreepies cooed into his ears. After all, they appeared to have enjoyed the movie. So it wasn’t all that bad. Now to get himself bed ready. Leon brushed his teeth, quickly braided his hair, washed his face – properly today, applying peeling and everything – and got rid of his clothes, before he said goodnight to his _children_ and pulled the blanket over his body. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep again and luckily, he also had no nightmares. It was a dreamless night, leaving him refreshed for the day to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Next update might be a while and might also contain a time jump :D

**Author's Note:**

> Come join me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/juleatic)!


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